Friday, 4 July 2014

More Than Machine Noise: The Car Sounds You Should Pay Attention To

A working, fully operationalmachine is expected to generate some noise. A soft hum of the engine or the
soft twirl of the motors should be enough to guarantee that you have properly
working equipment. But when you start hearing something out of the ordinary,
it's time to pay attention. It could be any number of things but chances are
that it's due to a loose, broken or worn out part that needs to be repaired or
replaced ASAP.

Common Car Noises

The sound of your engine starting
is the one important thing to listen to. The absence of the soft purr or the
loud broom-broom when you start your vehicle means that you may have trouble.
Car noises are like symptoms of a serious disease that can take a turn for the
worse if ignored.

Here are some of the usual noises
that cars make that you should be on the lookout for:

• A hissing sound under the hood
of your car could mean there's something leaking, possibly a vacuum line

• A gurgling noise after you've
turned off your engine could mean the engine has overheated.

• A screeching sound when you hit
the brakes is often likely due to worn out brake pads, which means that you
need to get new ones as brakes are crucial safety parts.

• Clicks coming from your engine
compartment can be a sign that you're running low on oil. In some cases it
could mean that the valve trains need to be adjusted.

• A low rumbling noise that's out
of the ordinary when you're driving means that your wheel bearings are loose or
your tires are worn out and need to be replaced.

• A scraping sound from the back
of your car could mean that you snagged on something and you're dragging it
while you're driving or that your brakes are

What to Do When You Hear These
Sounds

Ignoring these sounds is not a
smart advice as this could impact your safety or mean an increased repair cost
for you in the long run. If you've been driving your car for quite some time,
you'll come to know its "normal" sounds so anything out of the ordinary
should be enough to get you to wonder.

Getting to know your car's sounds
and listening to the noises it makes is the first step. Once you hear anything
out of the ordinary, the next important step to find out its source. If you're
not a mechanic or a car expert, this shouldn't worry you. A quick trick is to
record the dubious sound that your car's making and compare it with a database
of car noises. If match the noise you may be able to identify the problem. This
collection of car sounds, available online, is very handy especially if you
want to know if it's a serious problem you're dealing with or if your car
requires just a quick fix that you can perform yourself.